Archaeology: The Essential Guide to Our Human Past

by Paul G. Bahn (Editor)

Epic in scope, yet filled with detail, this illustrated guide takes readers through the whole of our human past. Spanning the dawn of human civilization through the present, it provides a tour of every site of key archaeological importance. From the prehistoric cave paintings of Lascaux to Tutankhamun's tomb, from the buried city of Pompeii to China's Terracotta Army, all of the world's most iconic sites and discoveries are here. So too are the lesser-known yet equally important finds, such as the recent discoveries of our oldest known human ancestors and of the world's oldest-known temple, Gobekli Tepe in Turkey. A masterful combination of succinct analysis and driving narrative, this book also addresses the questions that inevitably arise as we gradually learn more about the history of our species. Written by an international team of archaeological experts and richly illustrated throughout, Archaeology: A Comprehensive Guide to Our Human Past offers an unparalleled insight into the origins of humankind.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Archaeology, School, Anthropology

576 pages, Hardcover

Published November 7, 2017

About the author

Paul G. Bahn is a British archaeologist, translator, writer and broadcaster who has published extensively on a range of archaeological topics, with particular attention to prehistoric art. He is a contributing editor to Archaeology magazine.

Reviews

[David Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Archaeology: The Essential Guide to Our Human Past by Paul Bahn, Editor (Smithsonian Books 2017)(930.1). What a great volume! As a child I fantasized about becoming an archaeologist. If I had found this book fifty years ago, my career path might well have pointed in a different direction.
Smithsonian has published here the greatest single book for laypeople on the subject of archaeology ever printed. This volume is divided by time periods, and there is a two-page entry on (apparently) every single exciting ongoing archaeological dig on the planet. It's filled with insightful photos and drawings, and an entry for every archaeological mystery ever discovered can be found on these pages.
This is a truly great work. Smithsonian, you should be proud. My rating: 8/10, finished 6/6/19. UPDATED 6/25/21 - I purchased a HB copy of this book from Amazon in very good condition for $28.64. HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[Don Heiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Editor Paul Bahn with forward by Brian Fagan and 14 collaborators with strong ties to University of Cambridge wrote in 2017 “Archaeology: the Essential Guide to Our Human Past.” This exceptional publication from Smithsonian Books has hundreds of amazing pictures, historic timelines, and written descriptions of archaeological discovery sites that span deep prehistory (4 million to 10,000 bce); through the hunters gathers to farmers period (3,000 bce); to the Iron Age (500-1,600 bce); into the medieval world; and culminating in our present day (2017 ad). A number of these sites my wife and I visited in our travels and the authors’ descriptions of these sites gave us new insights about our travel experiences and our place in the evolution of humanity. The written 500+ page text is spell binding and can be read in as few as 4 sittings! (P)

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

An introduction to modern-day archaeology for laypeople, divided by general time periods and areas of the world, and introducing readers to various ways of studying archaeological sites. Includes discussions of various methods of dating and new computer-based technologies. Abundant color photographs of selected sites and accompanying text by expert contributors introduces readers to well-known and lesser-known sites from around the world. An impressive and fascinating labor of love -- will inspire many readers to pick up their tools and head to the nearest dig.

[Adriana Velásquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Easy to understand and packed with interesting details. The only thing I noticed is that some pictures are not referenced in any way. For example, there's a picture on page 97 of a bird eating human heads and the caption (is not caption, just text on the same block) is not related at all with the picture. Some other pictures are very well described like on page 102.

[Susu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roundtrip through the essential periods of human history - touching on all the big archaeological sites